Lock without bolt operator



Oct. 6, 1970 J KOCKX ETAL LOCK WITHOUT BOLT QPERATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Nov. 14, 1968 'FIEI ,2 Maw w 4 4 EW M W M a v 65 from/16 UnitedStates Patent 3,531,958 LOCK WITHOUT BOLT OPERATOR Dale J. Kockx, SiouxFalls, and Glen E. Straatmeyer,

Brandon, S. Dak., assignors to Raven Industries, Inc.,

Sioux Falls, S. Daic, a corporation of South Dakota Filed Nov. 14, 1968,Ser. No. 775,695 Int. Cl. E0511 37/12 U.S. Cl. 70-312 12 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE An improved locking mechanism is disclosed that isused with coin boxes on such devices as automatic washing machines wherefour smooth tumblers each having a radially extending slot are rotatablysecured to a plate forming the closure to the coin box in a recessedmanner with the actuating part of the locking structure beingspring-biased towards an unlocking condition, the unlocking action beingcompleted through further rotation of the lock tumblers without resortto a separate latch or bolt operator. The tumblers are indexed byforming notches in the edge of a retaining circular flange in the plateand the tumblers are secured against movement while the combination ofthe lock is changed.

This invention relates to the field of locking devices and moreparticularly relates to improvements in the closure member or lookingcover for a coin box in which there is no bolt operator.

This application is directed to an improvement upon a locking device andrelates to co-pending applications filed on Nov. 213, 1966, under Ser.No. 596,489, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,537 issued Dec. 19, 1968, entitledLocking Cover for a Coin Box; and filed on May 31, 1968, under Ser. No.733,357 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,354 issued Oct. 21, 1969, entitledImproved Looking Device, and assigned to the same assignee.

Certain types of locks lend themselves to a more convenient means ofpicking and this is especially true where there is no indexing mechanismused so that it is easier for the unscrupulous operator to get a feel ofthe locking mechanism. Where a bolt or latch operator is used with thetumbler mechanisms, the unscrupulous operator may apply pressure to thebolt or latch operator and thus upon manipulation of the tumblers,obtain some feel of the device.

In an attempt to improve the locking structure and overcome the variousways of picking the lock or determining the combination, means have beenprovided to prevent the operator from obtaining the feel of the lockingmechanism. Where it is impossible to operate the latch or boltmechanism, manipulation of the tumblers through gearing and the indexingmechanism tends to alleviate the problem. The indexing mechanismprovides a certain amount of drag in maneuvering the tumbler mechanismsand in the instant structure, upon the tumblers being set to the propercombination, a spring mechanism is used to urge bolt or latch operatorinto a position where further manipulation of anyone of the tumblerswill open the lock mechanism.

Therefore, is is a general object of the present invention to provide animproved locking mechanism for use, with coin-collection equipment ofcoin-operated mechanisms.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a lockingmechanism controlled through a biasing structure and the tumblers of thelocking mechanism.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a locking mechanismwhich is biased towards an open condition and has the latching arms orbolt-biased in an opposite manner and at a greater magnitude.

3,531,958 Patented Oct. 6, 1970 It is still a further object of thisinvention to provide indexing members and a reduced contact area betweenthe tumblers and pin followers to lessen the possibility of detectingthe lock combination.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a lockingmechanism which may not be opened by brute force.

These and other objects of the invention will more fully appear from thefollowing description, made in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, 'wherein like reference characters refer to the same orsimilar parts throughout the several views, and in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view of the front panel of the locking mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a hand tool used to operate the lockingmechanism as found in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view of the rear panel of the locking mechanismshown in a locked condition;

FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the rear panel of the locking mechanismshown in an unlocked condition;

FIG. 5 is a section view of a front plate having a cutout portionshowing the detail of an indexing mechanism as seen taken along lines 55of FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a section view takenalong lines 6 6 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a plate member having fingers extendingtherefrom for use in changing the locking mechanism combination; and

FIG. 8 is a partial section view of the locking arms of the lockingmechanism as seen taken along lines 88 of FIG. 3.

The locking mechanism as seen from the front and as shown primarily inFIG. 1 discloses a front panel member which has four equally spacedbores 32 through 35 formed therein and which are equally spaced from acentrally located shaft 36 (FIGS. 3 and 6) which is rotatably secured tothe rear of the panel and will be described in more detail later.Rotatably situated in each of bores 32 through 35 are four shafts 37through 40 respectively, the ends of the shafts having a fiat portionformed thereon.

The rotation of shafts 37 through 40 is accomplished through the use ofa hand tool 41 (FIG. 2) having a shaft engaging end member 42 thatcorresponds with the fiat portion of the shafts so that a rotationalmovement may be imparted thereto. Concentric with a shaft 43 engagingend member 42, is a circular member 44 which includes indicia around theperiphery thereof, specifically displaying twenty-four positions orincrements which are fixed positions with respect to shaft rotation.

As seen primarily in FIGS. 3 through 6, shaft 36 has a flanged portion45 and a shoulder portion 46 with a reduced circular portion 47extending rearwardly which terminates in a reduced section 49 that isrotatably supported in a bore 50 formed in a back plate member 51. Anintermediate plate 52 is secured to plate 30 by suitable means such asfour studs 55 through 58 which are threaded to receive four nuts 60through 63, plate 52 having four holes 64 through 67 formed therein toengage the studs. A third plate member 70 is secured to plates 30 and 52through the same threaded studs and has its edge portions turnedrearwardly to engage and secure plate 51 through suitable means such asmachine screws or releasable fasteners. A bore 71 formed in the centerof plate 70 supports shoulder 46 of shaft 36 and flange 45 is of athickness slightly less than that of plate 52, thus rotatably retainingshaft 36. Shafts 37 through 40 also have four flanges 72 through 75formed therewith which are also secured between plates 30 and 70. Eachof flanges 72 through 75 contain a plurality of notches 76 which areequal in number to the indicia on tool 41 and specifically the disk 44which in the instant case repre- 3 sents twenty-four different equallyspaced radial positions. In other words, each of the notches areseparated by IS-degree increments.

The rearwardly extending portion of shaft 37 has a gear 79 securedthereto by a suitable means. Gear 79 mates with another gear 80 which issecured to a shaft 81 by suitable means, the forward end of shaft 81being rotatably secured in a bore 82 formed in plate 70. A shoulder 83is formed about shaft 81 immediately to the rear of gear 80 so that gear80 is secured against axial movement. The rearward portion of shaft 81terminates in a reduced section 84 which rides in a bore 85 formed inplate 51 to provide rotational movement thereto. A reduced section orannular groove 86 is formed adjacent plate 51 in shaft 81 for reasonswhich will be set forth in detail subsequently. A tumbler 90 isrotatably fitted about shaft 81 and is appropriately secured to shaft 81by a set screw 91 which mates with annular groove 86. In other words,tumbler 90 may be rotated with respect to shaft 81 and this will beexplained further subsequently.

The additional tumblers and mechanisms are identical to that justdescribed and the details thereof will not be discussed. It will befound that three additional tumblers 95 through 97 are supported bythree shafts 100 through 102 respectively. Tumblers 90 and 95 through 97have four deep slots 104, 105, 106, and 107 respectively formed therein.

A hub 110 is rotatably secured about shaft 36, where the lower portionof hub 110 is in the form of a disc 114. It will be observed that disc114 and hub 110 may be made integrally or from separate pieces and disc114 slipped over the square shank of hub 110 and secured thereto bysuitable means. Four pins 120 through 123 are secured to camming disc114 and are shown in a position engaging the edge of the tumblers, slot104 being in a position to receive pin 220 upon proper alignment of theother tumblers. A spring 124 is secured to one of the edge portions ofplate 70 by suitable means such as a lug 125 which has a hole 126 formedtherein with spring 124 being anchored thereto. The other end of spring124 is secured to disc 114 by suitable means such as a machine screw127. Spring 124 is anchored to disc 114 in such a manner that pins 120through 123 are urged into engagement with tumblers 90 and 95 through97. Spring 124 has only a slight tension placed upon disc 114 and issufficient to cause all of pins 120 through 123 to slip into thecorresponding slots of the tumblers when all of the slots are properlyaligned.

To aid in preventing someone from obtaining the feel of the lock tumblerpositions, an indexing mechanism is shown in FIG. wherein a pair ofspring members 134 and 135 are secured in a substantially square recessor cutout portion 136 of plate 52. Recess 136 contains a pair ofshoulder members 137 and 138 which support spring member 134 at the endsthereof and an inward projecting finger 140 communicates with the centerportion of spring member 134 which is bent around finger 140. Springmember 134 has a pair of detent portions 141 and 142 formed thereinmidway between shoulders 137, 138, and finger member 140 respectivelywhereby detent portions 141 and 142 engage the identations or notches 76formed in flanges 72 and 75 respectively. Thus as flange 72 is rotated,a portion of the feel is transferred through spring member 134 to theadjacent flange 75 so that the position of tumbler 90 with respect topin 120' is somewhat obscured by communication of detent 142 with flangemember 75. In a similar manner, a pair of shoulders 144 and 145cooperate with a finger member 146 to produce tension in spring member135 and in particular at a pair of detent portions 147 and 148respectively. It will be noted that the shoulder members 137, 138, 144,and 145 along with the cooperating finger members 140 and 146 set theproper tension of spring members 134 and 135 with respect to flanges 72,75, 74 and 76.

The lock mechanism also includes a pair of substantially right-anglearms 156 and 157 which are pivotally secured in place over studs 58 and56. As seen in Fig. 8, arms 156 and 157 are bent at appropriate placesto provide the proper clearances and emerge through the rearwardlyextending portions of plate 70. Secured to ends of arms 156 and 157 at alocation greatest from studs 58 and 56 are a pair of upturned members158 and 159 respectively. Upturned portions 158 and 159 engage a pair ofedge portions 160 and 161 of camming disc 114 when it is rotated to drawarms 156 and 157 inwardly towards hub 110. A spring member 162, in theform of a wire spring, is secured to upstanding arm portions 158 and 159to urge arms 156 and 157 away from hub 110 towards a locked condition.That is, spring 162 keeps arms 156 and 157 in a locked condition at alltimes until cam 114 is rotated where edges 160 and 161 pick up theupturned portions and cam them towards hub 110. Springs 162 has atension which is greater than spring members 124 to insure that the lockwill only be opened upon arriving at the proper combination and uponfurther rotation of one of tumblers or through 97. Thus spring 124causes pin through 123 to move only partially in the corre spondingslots and the lock mechanism must be opened by a rotation of one of thetumblers.

Because it is desirable to change the combination of the lock and toinsure that the tumblers do not rotate while the combination is beingchanged, a fiat plate number 174 (FIG. 7) has four pins or fingers 175through 178 secured therein which pass through holes formed in backplate51 (not shown) to engage the four deep slots 104 through 107respectively. In other words, pins 175 through 178 are placed in slots104' through 107 as shown in FIG. 3, which lock the tumblers in place.The set screws 91 are then loosened and hand tool 41 is used to set thecombination for any ppropriate number that the operator desires afterwhich set screws 91 are again tightened.

The front panel member 30 may be formed from material such ascase-hardened steel as well as the shafts which are exposed to the frontof the panel. By the use of the extremely hard materials at the face ofthe lock mechanism, it will be seen that it is impossible to apply anybrute force to the lock mechanism because rotation of any of the shaftswhich are coupled to the tumblers merely causes the tumblers to rotatethrough the driving mechanism of the gears and as the pins pass over theslots, there is no feel transmitted to the shafts. In fact, it may befound desirable to chamfer or bevel the edges of slots 104 through 107where desirable. Additionally, pins 120 through 123 may be formed with aslight taper away from disc 114 so that only a small area is involvedbetween the engagement of the tumblers and the pins. Under suchcircumstances, the smaller the contact area between the tumblers andpins on disc 114, the less chance there is of any feel being transmittedthrough the locking mechanism, and especially where the spring indexingmechanism is used, such as found in FIG. 5. In fact, it has been foundthat the lock mechanism has a very light touch and if shafts 37 through40 are not turned in the proper direction after reaching the positionwhere all of the pins are aligned with their corresponding slots, thelock will again be turned to a position which is not the propercombination and the tumblers will again have to be aligned.

What is claimed is:

1. A locking mechanism for a coin box having a lock portion securedthereto comprising:

(a) plate means having a plurality of bores formed therein and adaptedto close the coin box;

(b) lock means rotatably secured to the rear of said plate meansincluding a plurality of pin means;

(0) arm means movably secured to the rear of said plate means inengaging relationship with said lock means and adapted to move towardsand away from said lock means in cooperation with the lock portion ofthe coin box;

((1) spring bias means secured between said plate means and said lockingmeans urging said lock means towards an unlocking rotation; and

(e) a plurality of rotatable tumbler means secured to said plate meansand extending through said plurality of bores, the rear portions thereofhaving a smooth circular edge and a radially oriented slot extendingtherefrom, said rear portions cooperatively engaging said pin means,said spring bias means facilitating partial rotation of said lock meansupon all of said pin means engaging said slots, and further rotation ofany of said tumbler means completing rotation of said lock means.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 including:

(f) first gear means rotatably mounted in said plurality of bores andextending to the front and rear of said plate means; and

(g) second gear means secured to said tumbler means and meshing withsaid first gear means in driven relationship.

3. The structure of claim 2 including:

(h) hand tool means adapted to engage and rotate said first gear meansfrom the front of said plate means;

and

(i) indicia means including first indicia secured to said hand toolmeans in circular form and second indicia secured to said plate meansadjacent said bores.

4. The structure of claim 2 including:

(j) tumbler-engaging means having a plurality of finger members engagingall of said tumbler means against rotation simultaneously at rotationalpositions of said tumbler means representative of a predeterminedsetting; and

(k) releasable securing means releasably securing said second gear meansto said tumbler means.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4 including:

(1) a back plate, spacially disposed behind said plate means andconnected thereto, said back plate rotatably supporting said second gearand tumbler means and having a plurality of holes formed therein forreceiving said finger members of said tumbler-engaging means.

6. The structure set forth in claim 1 including:

(rn) indexing means including flange members with peripheral notchesformed therein equal in number to the predetermined number of rotationalrest positions of said tumbler means secured to said tumbler means andhaving spring members With detents formed therein operatively engagingat least two of said flange members simultaneously to cooperate withsaid notches formed therein, said spring merribers adapted to be securedto said plate means.

7. The structure set forth in claim 1 including:

(11) indexing means having a plurality of first elements thereof formedin said plate means and a plurality of second elements formed in saidplurality of rotatable tumbler means, said first and second elementscooperating to arrest rotation of said tumbler means at predeterminedangular positions with respect to said plate means.

8. The structure set forthin claim 7 wherein one of said elements is inthe form of indentations formed therein and the other of said elementsis in the form of a detent operatively cooperating with saidindentations.

9. The structure set forth in claim 8 wherein said plate means androtatable tumbler means include:

(o) a least a pair of plates secured to each other in flat relationshiphaving a recess formed in at least one of said plates disposed toencompass each of said bores; and

(p) a circular, flange member fixedly secured to said tumbler means androtatably secured in said recess preventing axial movement with respectto said pair of plates.

10. The structure set forth in claim 1 including:

(q) second spring bias means connected to said arm means urging said armmeans towards a locked condition having a higher spring constant than,and in opposition to, said spring bias means secured between said platemeans and said lock means.

11. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein said pin means aretapered and engage said tumbler means over a limited portion of thelength of said pin means.

12. The structure set forth in claim 1 including:

(r) a camming disc secured to said lock means and having said pin meanssecured thereto, said camming disc imparting a concentric rotation tosaid arm means when said lock means is rotated.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,316,037 9/1919 Hewitt -1122,540,172 2/1951 Nieratka 70-304 3,416,337 12/1968 Hutchins 70-2843,473,354 10/1969 Hutchins 703l2 RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner R.L. WOLFE, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 70-317, 322

